Stewart asked Brill to extend the interview to post up on the web. Part 2 of the Daily Show interview can be found online here. Stewart opens the segment with the following:

This should be required reading not only for every individual for this country, but lawmaker in this country. I feel like this should be a Silent Spring moment for health care, because it is shining a light on something that I think people have struggled with, but have not been able to articulate the damage that is being done. This is an incredible articulation of that damage.

The first institution mentioned in the article is the M.D Anderson Center Center in Houston. The Houston Chronicle recently reported that last fall, "The president of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center .. sought [and received] an ethics waiver from the University of Texas system that would allow M.D. Anderson to conduct trials of Aveo and other drugs to which [he] has financial connections." This man's salary is 1.4 million dollars per year, at a non-profit institution. The term "ethics waiver" seems to convey the entire problem with health care in the US. Money trumps all, and there is no limit to the greed, nor to the chutzpah - the hospital still sends me requests for donations.

Steven Brill deserves some credit for trying to address a very basic issue - What are the biggest contributors to the egregious costs of health care in the US. But the fact that it took reporters so long to even look at such a fundamental problem speaks volumes about the decline of investigative journalism in this country. One wonders what held them back - laziness, fear of push back from corporate interests?

Health care is really big money business.. worst is almost all is tied to insurance. Yes US healthcare is far superior, but at what cost to the public? Does it warrant the extra burden burden on the middle class???

@ParthaNeogy When the motivations of the corporate media are unclear, always ask yourself: what policy does Corporate America desire? Usually the point of view being sold dovetails nicely with Corporate America's desired policy. Ever wonder why when corporate journalists talk about the deficit, they only mention Social Security and Medicare as the big drivers, and never mention Defense?

It is not superior... you are getting your facts from a Red State's Bar's urinal.

American healthcare is something like twice as expensive as in the UK but is only average in quality... Much of medical science's new toys do indeed come from the US but the costs in the US are disgusting with only par quality.